U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,890 purports to describe a device for dispensing treating agents into clothes dryers. The device which is self-powered by batteries, is attached to the inside door of a conventional horizontal tumble dryer. However, the drawback of such a device is the harsh conditions within the dryer that it is subjected to. These harsh conditions, such as high temperature and high humidity, place a lot of strain on the lifetime and efficiency of the device's batteries and/or electronic components and can cause increased cost and/or inconvenience to a user of such a device. Additionally, when the device is wholly located inside the dryer, there is no means for the device to communicate with the user. Hence, there is limited means for the user to ascertain and/or control the operating status of the device.
The present invention overcomes these drawbacks by providing a device comprised of at least two housings wherein the two housings are in communication with one another and wherein at least one of the housings is located in the interior of a fabric article drying appliance (a non-limiting example of which includes a clothes dryer) and at least one housing is located outside of the fabric article drying appliance. The housing located in the interior of the fabric article drying appliance may contain for example a dispensing apparatus while the housing located outside of the drying appliance may contain for example sensitive components, non-limiting examples of which may include batteries, electrical components, and/or other heat and/or humidity sensitive components. The housing located outside of the drying appliance may also provide a means for a device to communicate with the user so that the user can control the device or ascertain the operating status of the device.